Project Manager Meeting in Härkingen on 18 September 2014

30.06.2014 -
Ralph Wehrli, Senior Official for the Metropolitan Area of Bern (Switzerland), would like to invite anyone who is interested in the IAPM and project management to the Bern Project Manager Network Meeting at the Swiss Post’s Mail Processing Office in Härkingen on 18 September 2014.
The Swiss Post’s mail processing system is one of the most modern in the world. The logistics hubs that are necessary to operate it are the mail processing offices in Härkingen, Eclépens and Zurich-Mülligen.
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30.06.2014 -
Ralph Wehrli, Senior Official for the Metropolitan Area of Bern (Switzerland), would like to invite anyone who is interested in the IAPM and project management to the Bern Project Manager Network Meeting at the Swiss Post’s Mail Processing Office in Härkingen on 18 September 2014.

The Swiss Post’s mail processing system is one of the most modern in the world. The logistics hubs that are necessary to operate it are the mail processing offices in Härkingen, Eclépens and Zurich-Mülligen. You can gain a first-hand insight into state-of-the art mail sorting at the Project Manager Network Meeting. After the guided tour, a presentation will be given by Jürg Schmutz, Senior Project Manager at Swiss Post, including interesting information about the project, the challenges it involved and the lessons that were learned. Then there will be an opportunity for everyone to discuss the topic in more detail, as well as network with other participants, over drinks and snacks.

The Swiss Post’s inauguration of the Härkingen Mail Sorting Office in 2009 marked the official conclusion of the REMA (Reengineering Mail Processing) project, which had been launched in 2002. Swiss Post invested over one billion Swiss francs in the modernisation of its mail processing operations during the seven-year project, which focused on the construction and operationalization of three highly automated mail processing facilities in Eclépens, Härkingen and Zurich-Mülligen.

The Härkingen Mail Processing Office covers an area the size of more than 13 football pitches. Construction work commenced in 2006 and ended in November 2008, when the processing office commenced operations. Today more than 5 million items of mail are sorted every day and there are 100,000 mail containers in circulation at the office. The high bay warehouse has space for 82,000 containers. There are 41 docking bays for trucks and 20 for delivery vans (goods receipt and goods dispatch). The conveyor belt system is more than 12 kilometres in length. 13 sorting machines ensure the correct distribution of mail into the right containers. There are also 250 km of computer and power cables. Almost 800 employees work three shifts to keep mail processing operations running smoothly and in high quality.

The Swiss Post’s REMA project was of crucial importance because back then, as is still the case today, it faced considerable challenges. The postal markets in Europe were being liberalised, customer requirements were changing and modern technology was paving the way for higher productivity and innovative products and services. Electronic mail was resulting in a shift from written to digital communication, and to digital document distribution.

Our speaker, Jürg Schmutz, was responsible for 22 sub-projects relating to IT infrastructure particularly telecommunication (WAN, LAN, telephony), access control systems, printing and scanning in the REMA project between 2004 and 2010. He is familiar with all phases of the REMA project and will be talking about the Swiss Post’s biggest logistics project to date from a project manager’s perspective, including incidents and anecdotes relating to his experiences during the project.

Have you always wondered how it is possible to get several million items of mail to the correct address on time every day? How it is possible to implement projects of this scale? What challenges a project manager faces in this kind of a project?

Then come along to our IAPM Network Meeting for some informative insights into state-of-the-art mail processing, the management of complex large scale projects and the opportunity to extend your personal network of contacts.

1. Take the Egerkingen exit from the A2 motorway2. Turn left towards Härkingen3. Take the second exit at the roundabout towards Härkingen4. Cross the railway bridge5. Take the third exit at the next roundabout

Please use the visitor car park to the right of the bus stop.

By public transport

1. Olten station2. Regional train service to Hägendorf (Destination: Solothurn)3. From Hägendorf station take bus service 513 (Destination: Oberbuchsiten) as far as “Briefzentrum Härkingen“

Please note: Bus services are very limited between 6 and 10 p.m.

NotesGuided tour of the mail processing officeThe guided tour takes approx. one hour. We recommend that you wear comfortable shoes.